On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 07:35:37 +0000, Paul <paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > Does anyone know how the computer *actually* does integer > > > division? I understand that with powers of 2, it just does bit > > > shifting, but what about other powers, do you know? Usually integer division is performed directly by the CPU in hardware as a single instruction; although it's certainly possible in software given a few basic primitives. One of the most popular methods is a Radix-4 division, or more generally a high-radix divider. There are however other methods too, usually a tradeoff between complexity, transitor count, and efficiency. Explaining how it works is a bit too involved for here. However if you think about how you were taught to do long-hand division (in decimal), the idea is similar, although your long-hand is rather inefficient and unoptimal. If you want to do more research, a good textbook on the subject of "Computer Architecture" will cover this. -- Deron Meranda
